A vote on whether graduate students will unionize has been proposed for Nov. 14 and 15, following an election petition filed by Stand Up for Graduate Student Employees and American Federation of Teachers with the American Arbitration Association Oct. 25, said Hilary Rasch GS, a member of SUGSE.
Along with the petition, SUGSE has sent its signed authorization cards, which indicate support for an election, to the AAA, Rasch added. At least 30 percent of the bargaining unit must sign authorization cards under the pre-election agreement.
If a majority of graduate students vote in favor of a union, the University will recognize AFT as “the exclusive collective bargaining representative,” according to the agreement.
The University’s “principal relationship with graduate students is as students,” wrote Provost Richard Locke P’18 in a recent email to the University community, adding that the administration “has consistently affirmed that we would comply with the prevailing law and support discussions among graduate students.”
The filing comes alongside recent developments at Georgetown University, where graduate students will also vote on unionization Nov. 5 to 8. Similar to SUGSE, Georgetown Alliance of Graduate Employees signed a pre-election agreement with Georgetown in April.
An earlier version of this article stated that a vote on graduate student unionization will be held Nov. 14 and 15. In fact, that election date has just been proposed and is not yet finalized. The Herald regrets the error.
